As the deteriorating Turkey-Germany relations turn to a big crisis, Germany is preparing to impose economic cutbacks in order to increase the pressure on Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Following the initiatives of German, according to Deutsche Welle, the European Union (EU) is ready to cut off the financial funds for Turkey.
Some diplomatic sources allege that the EU, which planned to provide Turkey with around 4,45 billion EUR for the years between 2014 and 2020, is prepared to impose a cutback during its mid-term evaluation meeting in the upcoming autumn due to the escalating crisis between Turkey and the EU countries.
The European diplomatic sources anticipate that an EU meeting in September or October will impose a cutback of a few hundreds of millions EUR on Turkey, which is planned to be paid within the frame of the ‘Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance’, or shortly known as IPA II, a funding mechanism for candidate members. Yet the exact amount of the funds will be designated following the evaluations of the EU Commission.
ERDOĞAN TELLS TURKS IN GERMANY NOT TO VOTE FOR ‘TURKEY’S ENEMIES’
Meanwhile, Turkish President and chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a message via journalists regarding the Turkish-German relations, calling on the Turks living in Germany to not to vote for the “enemies of Turkey”.
“Do not support CDU, SPD, or the Greens. They are all the enemies of Turkey,” Erdoğan told the reporters in İstanbul on August 18.
As over a million Turks residing in Germany have the right to vote during the upcoming elections on September 24, 2017, President Erdoğan warned the Turks not to support Merkel’s CDU, the Social Democrats or the Greens.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım also made a statement on Germany’s attempts to impose economic sanctions on Turkey. Yıldırım blamed Germany for ‘showing off’ in the name of the European Union.
GERMAN FM: WE WOULD NOT OCCUPY TURKEY
As the diplomatic crisis escalates between Germany and Turkey, “the Customs Union deal with Turkey will not be changed or updated,” German chancellor Merkel said previously.
On the other hand, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel shared his views on the imprisonment of journalist Deniz Yücel from Die Welt in Turkey. Arguing that journalist Yücel is a “hostage in Turkey”, Gabriel stated, “It might be better not to take Erdoğan so seriously“. Gabriel concluded that economic and diplomatic instruments would compel Turkey to release journalist Yücel, adding, “We would not occupy Turkey”.
SPD leader, Martin Schulz, made a statement via Twitter and said that "Erdogan goes too far. We'll give more support for those fighting for free and democratic Turkey."
